A rare Ferrari convertible sold for $27.5 million at an auction last night in Monterey, Calif. The RM Auctions sale was part of the weekend of collector-car shows, sales, vintage racing and other events that have sprung up around the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The car, a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 N.A.R.T Spider, has long been among the most coveted road-going collectibles in part because Ferrari built just 10 of them. But experts had valued them at about $10 million recently and the auction house estimate was between $14 million and $17 million, so the final sale price was a stunner.

Part of the reason this car stands out is that North Carolina businessman and Ferrari collector Eddie Smith Sr. bought the car when new and picked it up from the factory in Maranello, Italy. And Mr. Smith’s family still owned the car when it came up for auction. Such one-owner collector cars are extremely rare and sought after.

Still, this sale elevates the N.A.R.T. Spider to the tip-top of the classic-car ranks. Its sale price was close to the auction-record $29.6 million paid last month for a 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 grand prix racer driven to victory by five-time Formula One champion Juan Manuel Fangio.

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